Herschel Clay Baker (8 November 1914, Cleburne, Texas â 2 February 1990, Belmont, Massachusetts) was an American professor of English literature, specializing in the intellectual history of Christian humanism and its erosion.
He studied at Southern Methodist University and received his PhD from Harvard in 1939. He then taught at the University of Texas for seven years, In 1946 he joined the staff of Harvard, and later served several terms as the chair of its English department.
Baker's 1947 book The Dignity of Man is a series of chronological studies tracing the development of Christian humanism until the Reformation. His 1952 book on the decay of Christian humanism relies on earlier work by Hardin Craig and Basil Willey.
Baker was a Guggenheim Fellow for the academic years 1956âÂÂ1957 and 1963âÂÂ1964. In 1966 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Southern Methodist University.